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EU internal security strategy

The communication aims at putting the European Union (EU) Internal Security Strategy into action. Focusing on organised crime, terrorism, cybercrime, border security and disasters, it proposes specific actions for the period 2011-14.

ACT

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council of 22 November 2010 – The EU Internal Security Strategy in Action: Five steps towards a more secure Europe [COM(2010) 673 final – Not published in the Official Journal].

SUMMARY

The European Council endorsed the European Union (EU) Internal Security Strategy at its meeting of 25-26 March 2010. The strategy sets out the challenges, principles and guidelines for dealing with security threats relating to organised crime, terrorism and natural and man-made disasters. On the basis of the strategy, the Commission adopted this communication to propose actions for implementing the strategy during the period 2011-14.

The communication sets out five strategic objectives, with specific actions for each objective, for overcoming the most urgent challenges in order to make the EU more secure.

Disrupt international criminal networks

The disruption of criminal networks and the elimination of the financial incentives that drive these networks are necessary for combating crime. To achieve this objective, the actions proposed consist of:

identifying and dismantling criminal networks: legislation on the collection and use of Passenger Name Records, amendments to the anti-money laundering legislation and guidelines for the use of national bank account registers for tracing criminal finances will be proposed. A strategy for information collection and use by law enforcement and judicial authorities will be drawn up, the setting up of joint operations and joint investigation teams will be reinforced, and the implementation of the European arrest warrant will be improved;

protecting the economy against criminal infiltration: a proposal for monitoring and assisting EU countries’ anti-corruption efforts will be adopted, a network of national contact points will be set up, and actions to enforce intellectual property rights will be taken;

confiscating criminal assets: legislation to improve the legal framework on confiscation will be proposed, national Asset Recovery Offices will be set up and indicators developed for their evaluation, and best practice guidance on preventing criminals from reacquiring confiscated assets will be provided.

Prevent terrorism and address radicalisation and recruitment

Since the threat of terrorism is constantly evolving, Europe’s efforts to combat it must also evolve to stay ahead of the threat. To this end, a coherent European approach and preventive action are needed:

empowering communities to prevent radicalisation and recruitment: an EU radicalisation-awareness network will be created, a ministerial conference on the prevention of radicalisation and recruitment will be organised, and a handbook to support EU countries actions will be drawn up;

cutting off terrorists’ access to funding and material and following their transactions: a framework for freezing assets and for preventing and combating terrorism will be established, legislative and non-legislative action will be taken to implement the action plans on explosives and on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear substances, and policy for the extraction and analysis of financial messaging data in the EU will be set out;

protecting transport: the EU regime for aviation and maritime security will be further developed.

Raise levels of security for citizens and businesses in cyberspace

Rapidly evolving information technologies also create new forms of threats. To combat cybercrime, EU countries must collaborate at EU level to take further action:

building capacity in law enforcement and the judiciary: an EU cybercrime centre for cooperation between EU countries and EU institutions will be established, and EU countries’ capacities for investigation and prosecution will be developed;

working with industry to empower and protect citizens: a system for reporting cybercrime incidents will be set up, and guidelines on cooperation for treating illegal internet content will be drawn up;

improving capability for dealing with cyber attacks: a network of national and EU level Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and a European Information and Alert System (EISAS) will be set up.

Strengthen security through border management

In relation to the movement of persons, the EU can treat migration management and the fight against crime as twin objectives of the integrated border management strategy. The instruments improving security in relation to the movement of goods are also complementary, and are constantly being developed to tackle the increasingly sophisticated criminal organisations. In line with this, the actions proposed consist of:

exploiting the full potential of EUROSUR: a proposal for the establishment of EUROSUR will be adopted, and pilot projects concerning threats related to drugs and smuggling will be carried out at the southern or south-western border of the EU;

enhancing the contribution of Frontex at external borders: annual reports on specific cross-border crimes will be drafted to form the basis of joint operations;

developing common risk management for movement of goods across external borders: EU level capabilities for risk analysis and targeting will be improved;

improving interagency cooperation at national level: national common risk analyses will be developed, the coordination of border checks by national authorities will be improved, and best practices for interagency cooperation will be developed.

Increase Europe’s resilience to crises and disasters

The cross-sectoral threats posed by natural and man-made crises and disasters necessitate improvements to long-standing crisis and disaster management practices in terms of efficiency and coherence. This is to be achieved through:

making full use of the solidarity clause: a proposal on the application of the solidarity clause will be adopted;

developing an all-hazards approach to threat and risk assessment: guidelines for disaster management will be drawn up, national approaches will be developed, cross-sectoral overviews of possible risks will be established together with overviews of current threats, an initiative on health security will be developed, and a risk management policy will be established;

linking the different situation awareness centres: links between sector-specific early warning and crisis cooperation systems will be improved, and a proposal for better coordination of classified information between EU institutions and bodies will be adopted;

developing a European Emergency Response Capacity for tackling disasters: the establishment of a European Emergency Response Capacity will be proposed.